Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Lord Haldane

Found among the Reeve* papers this short memoir of Lord Haldane - i.e. Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane KT, OM, PC, KC, FRS, FBA, FSA (1856 – 1928) an influential British Liberal Imperialist and later Labour politician, lawyer and philosopher. As with many of Reeve's pieces he had never met the man but had seen him give speeches at congresses and describes his speaking style well. He writes '...many have known have not known me. All of them I have seen, most of them I have heard, and some of them have sought information, even advice from me." For Reeve the unifying qualification all these people have is '… some subtle emanation of personality we call leadership, and which can inspire people to actions unlikely to be undertaken unless prompted by a stronger will.'

LORD HALDANEWhen one begins to delve into the pages of great books of reference, such as the Encyclopaedia Britannica, there are times one stops at a certain page and reads with an increasing sense of wonder and respect. I was looking for Haldane, and as I read the wonder grew. So this was the man treated so contemptuously by most of us during the First World War!I claim no laurels for being among the minority when the bitter controversy was in full flood, for I knew many with a similar opinion. Asquith’s "Wait and See" caused one of the most ridiculous slogans in my memory; and I never did feel that Haldane deserved all the acrimony he encountered for a number of years. But as Lloyd George once said to a delegation concerning mob violence, "You can’t do anything while people are like that. You must just wait until they calm down and come to their senses."Most of us know that Haldane's remark, "My spiritual home is Germany," created the rumpus; but I was unaware that he earned first-class honours in Philosophy at Edinburgh and that at Gottinge he studied under the great scholar Lotze.As a politician he had a satisfying run of 25 years, being a Liberal Member of Parliament for Haddingtonshire, and becoming Secretary for War in 1905 under Campbell Bannerman. In 1906 under Asquith, there were assembled probably the most capable cabinet ministers of any age, with such well-known names as Masterman, Runciman, Lloyd George, McKenna, Churchill and Samuel; Haldane was again Secretary for War. Indeed, immediately after the 1906 election the Daily Dispatch declared that Asquith's team was so strong that he would find it difficult to manage such a forceful cabinet. History records however, that Asquith shaped very well with his colleagues.Under such conditions Haldane steadily forged his way under stiff opposition, with schemes of high purpose such as a comprehensive reorganization of the British Army; an Officers' Training Corps, a Special Reserve, a Territorial Army, a Genera! Staff, and suggested a Dominions' Conference. This led to an Imperial General Staff, and among other new ventures which he might have reported to his recording angel were a National Physical Laboratory at Teddington, a special committee to study aircraft and aerial navigation, and a balloon factory at Farnborough. It is not to be wondered that when the hurricane of controversy began to subside he was acclaimed by shrewd public men as our greatest war minister since Cardwell.Such are the main lines connected with his genius as a secretary for war; but he was more than a great initiator of military progress: he was a barrister, taking silk in 1890; and some of his judgments based on philosophical deductions connected with the law lifted him to the top rank of British jurists. This fact sometimes makes me wonder why Ramsey Macdonald when Prime Minister, made him Lord Chancellor. Did he think that Haldane was the best possible man for such a high office, or was he telling the world that Haldane was no pro-German? When Baldwin became Prime Minister he invited the same old Liberal to continue: either as Lord Chancellor or Chairman of the committee of Imperial Defence – I am not sure which. Was Baldwin making a grand gesture on his belief in the integrity of Haldane by asking him to continue in his responsible office? It should not be forgotten that when Asquith formed his coalition ministry and gave no office to the eminent Scotsman, Haldane was then awarded the O.M.I am sure few people think of Lord Haldane as an author. His kind of literature was for men of great intellect. Pathway to Reality, The Reign of Relativity, The Philosophy of Humanism, are only in small doses for me, but they are the mark of a great man, and must have caused a multitude of arguments and discussions in many clubs, common rooms, and seminars of universities, not only throughout the English-speaking world, but in philosophical circles abroad.But Haldane's interest in mental processes was not confined to the highest reaches of thought. At one period he was Chancellor of Bristol University; and he was a great believer in Adult Education, especially the W.E.A. movement which never failed to receive whole-hearted response when any appeal was made to him by pioneers of the new educational structure.He had perhaps reached the emeritus stage when I first saw him. It was at the International Congress of Philosophy at Oxford. At the time probably about 65 years of age, he walked the full length of the hall at New College, a bent, shambling figure, the picture of a feeble octogenarian at least; and I wondered at the time whether national cruelty was the cause of his physical deterioration. Now I do not think so. Certainly he must have experienced long periods of despondency and disappointment over his unpopularity. But after all he was a philosopher, and must have been gladdened by the many friends and acquaintances who were steadfast in their loyal defence of a much misunderstood man.He received so many honorary degrees in his later days that I have wondered whether some of them, admittedly deserved, were given partly as a soother, and at the instigation of influential friends. Whether my theory is true or false, I can testify that he could still enjoy really happy moments. When he spoke at Oxford on Relativity he was obviously a happy man. His was the most cheerful speech at the congress. He was witty. He was fluent; and one marvelled at his mental powers. Also he was obviously sincere when he declared in his thin, high-pitched voice that he had thoroughly enjoyed the Oxford meeting.He was a great man. Thoughtful Scotsmen in their castles, or crofters' cottages, must all claim that Lord Haldane was one of the most remarkable sons Scotland has ever known in her proud history.
* see footnote to previous entry (Salter)

... World Brain of H.G. Wells, an olla podrida, a rag bag of information, trivia and data. The conception of a sublime, leisured future. A hotch potch, a mélange, a farrago, a salmagundi.. Knowledge is power. Truth is beauty. Need to know this (and much more) on earth. A coming world of creation and idleness where time is spent in pursuit of knowledge and robots empty the waste paper basket. A dream of no work, all play and jack not a dull boy any more.

The oddest collection, passing strange, a saga, a fantasy, a dream…enter Captain Cuttle and the pedant Casaubon (a maligned man, Madam George). Keeping some sort of record with factoids, footnotes, ephemera, factbooks and discoveries preserved. An information bank, an interest bearing investment. An index of all knowledge, no less, laid out in the lost monograph- A proposal for an information sharing galaxy.

An amazing expanding archive, way beyond the algorithmic dream, post Mass Observation, many beautiful things no longer lost, bringing forth the mind of God, the all seeing eye - the library of Babel, Alexandria, far Antioch and the lost library of Zembla, the loot of cities. Universal access to all knowledge [A2K]. A vanished world recaptured. Notes and Queries honoured: New Encyclopaedists [Encyc2]. Nothing lost or forgotten. Time spent in research, curiosity and scholarship (the daring to be dull) the Renaissance ideal, the Victorian vicarage - just 4 hours a week of money yielding work. By Timothy! The answer is written on the wind, on the wall of the world. So much to know. Sums are not set as a test on Erasmus, much glory to Aaron Swartz... "He had a tale to tell." Madam, I'm Adam. Exit, pursued by a bear.

Jotcloud 101

"…new books every day, pamphlets, currantoes, stories, whole catalogues of volumes of all sorts, new paradoxes, opinions, schisms, heresies, controversies in philosophy, religion, &c. Now come tidings of weddings, maskings, mummeries, entertainments, jubilees, embassies, tilts and tournaments, trophies, triumphs, revels, sports, plays: then again, as in a new shifted scene, treasons, cheating tricks, robberies, enormous villainies in all kinds, funerals, burials, deaths of Princes, new discoveries, expeditions; now comical then tragical matters.To-day we hear of new Lords and officers created, to-morrow of some great men deposed, and then again of fresh honours conferred; one is let loose, another imprisoned; one purchaseth, another breaketh; he thrives, his neighbour turns bankrupt; now plenty, then again dearth and famine; one runs, another rides, wrangles, laughs, weeps &c... [Robert Burton]

What's the big idea?

Q. Where did the idea of jot101 and 'jotting' come from?

A. We knew a collector of esoterica who wrote notes and comments about his reading which he called his 'jottings.' It came from there. The information is not necessarily amusing, interesting, quirky or strange - but a 'jot' is generally new and original information or an advance on existing facts.

Q. So you would like jot101 to be a place where people archive research and notes from their readings?

A. Yes, but also information that they have come across in their work, in travel, from friends, in anecdote, in their family and in old books, periodicals, pamphlets and letters, manuscripts, notebooks and ephemera. Also obscure data, eyewitness reports, documents, photos, snapshots, press cuttings, diaries, biographies of seemingly unimportant people etc.,

Q. How does it differ from something like Wikipedia?

A. Much of the material is too minor and outside of the scope of an encyclopaedia. It is more about the preservation and curation of documents and ephemera; much of the information is beneath the Wikipedia radar (not notable enough) - it is closer to material referenced in their numbered footnotes …or the kind of information on which an encyclopaedic entry is based, part of the infrastructure... Jot101 is nearer to a mix of YouTube and the Victorian journal Notes and Queries in the way that people simply upload or record things they have found which are then in categories and searchable. The spirit of Notes and Queries is relentless curiosity and thirst for knowledge - however abstruse.

Q. Have you considered building a website and attracting contributions?

We already have a few contributors. We envision, in this century, a site where people seamlessly upload new information that they have found without having to create a website or a blog. Also where it is automatically codified along the lines of (say) the great Melvil Dewey and available for all eternity.

Remind me -what is a jot?

A jot is a piece of information. It is usually original and adds to our knowledge of the subject. Examples below:

The Terry-Thomas explanation.

Using the much loved gap-toothed British comedy actor Terry-Thomas as an example we show what is, and what is not, a jot.

Terry-Thomas's favourite drink was champagne. My father had a bar in Majorca and in the early 1960s Terry-Thomas holidayed there. He claims that T-T met Belinda Cunningham his third wife in his bar.It was called El Garito and catered for a louche Bohemian crowd. Terry-Thomas always called for champagne.

YES. Slight, but new information.

Terry-Thomas with his gap toothed smile and permanent cigarette holder always reminds me of my Uncle Derek who was thrown out of the Army in 1955 for stealing the mess takings. He was a 'bounder' too!

NO. Irrelevant information, adds nothing.

Terry-Thomas who everybody thought was such a 'bounder' and so terribly funny never made me or anyone in my family laugh. I think he was pretty lame.

NO. Opinion, and no new information. Also hard to believe...

I met a guy who had worked on a movie with Terry-Thomas. It was being shot in one of the hardest parts of Glasgow and after filming T-T insisted on dragging him and the crew to an exceptionally thuggish hardcore pub. T-T was in fine form, loud and posh and full of the joys of life and celebrity. He didn't change his style one iota for the local hard nuts. The guy thought there would almost certainly be a punch up but strangely the locals thought he was great and admired him for being exactly who he was and not changing his style.

YES. Good story, hopefully true and new information. A few more facts like the date, the name of the movie and the name of the pub would be even better.

So a jot adds new and original information, it is not irrelevant and it is not opinion. Every single posting on jot101 is a jot.